Memory

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Models of memory

Definitions:

Memory: the mental process involved in encoding, storing and retrieving information.

Model: A simplified representation of some aspects of the world.

Essential Questions:

How does our mind organize data?

How do psychologists study memory?

Cognitive psychologists generally agree that we have three types of memory:

Sensory memory

Short-term memory (STM)

Long-term memory (LTM)

To help us consider the differences between these types of memory, we consider their:

Encoding: how the information is transferred and processes in the system

Capacity: how much it can hold

Duration: how long it can hold the information

Cultural differences in memory:

The average age of first memories varies up to two years between different cultures.

This is thought to be a function of the meaning of memory within a particular cultural system.

The way parents and other adults discuss (or don't discuss) the events in a child's life influences the way the child will later remember those events.

People that grown up in societies that focus on individual person history, like the UK or US; or ones that focus on personal family history, like the Maori, will have different and often earlier childhood memories than people who grow up in cultures that, like many Asian cultures, value interdependence rather than personal autonomy.

Individualism - Focusing on the individual. Vs. Collectivism - Focusing on the group.

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